In the time of the ruling of Julius Caesar, all of the Romans loved most of Caesar's qualities. He was a good and popular leader and did a lot for the people. But some Romans had a problem with Caesar and plotted to kill him. These people were Brutus and Cassius. This started a civil war between the Romans. This war may have been prevented if Brutus and Cassius had done things a little differently. Cassius would have made a better leader rather than Brutus. Cassius also had more of a passion to kill Caesar. Brutus did not have the morals of a killer like Caesar did.

As far as military strategy goes Cassius had the better brain for it. Brutus was not a very good military strategist. Cassius knew that it would be a good idea to kill Antony. He thought that Antony would talk the people into trying to kill Brutus and Cassius even though their intentions were good.

The Death of Caesar

Woodcut illustration of Porcia Catonis counseling ...

Julius Caesar

But Brutus did not want to make it look like a blood bath. Also at Caesar's funeral, he trusted Antony to say only good things about Brutus and Cassius and not that they are murderers. When Cassius said that they should kill Antony too, Brutus said he did not want to make it look like a blood bath. He was vengeful and explosive. He argued with Brutus about lying, to the point where they threatened each others lives. Cassius said they should not march to Philippi because it would tire the troops out and they would not have the advantage of being in their own territory. On the other hand, Brutus thought that if they marched to Philippi they would catch Antony's troops off guard. Instead of doing what Brutus said, they should have listened to Cassius.

Although they had different views on military plans, they did share some qualities. Both of them were naturally leaders. This is showed to be true because they both were senators and patricians. They plotted to kill Caesar together. They did this because they realized that Caesar should not be crowned king. Even though both found different ways to get it, neither of them had money to pay their troops. They put their objectives before their lives. Brutus put his love for the republic before his life. They were both enemies of Antony and realized that he had to be put to death.

Cassius was envious of Caesar because he wanted the power that Caesar had. Though this was his only reason for wanting to kill Caesar, he was vengeful and had every intention of going through it without any second thoughts. But Brutus, being and honorable and trusting man, loved Caesar. The only thing making him want to kill Caesar was the republic. He looked out for the welfare of the republic and knew that Caesar had to be put to death because he was afraid of an arising dictatorship. As much as he loved Caesar, he loved the republic more. This gave him a small incentive towards the killing of Caesar.

Both Brutus and Cassius thought that Caesar should not be crowned king even though their reasons were different. Another thing they had in common is that they both stabbed Caesar.

The two Romans had very different morals. Brutus was an honorable man and said that he had never met a man that he did not trust. He was forgiving, but gullible and naive. This turned out to have bad results as far as whether or not Antony should live. If Antony were killed he could not have started the war. His qualities unlike Cassius', which were vengefulness and manipulative, made Cassius the better man for the job because he would have had Antony put to death. He was deceitful and had no problem lying to people, even Brutus. He was also plotting and suspicious which made for a very god military strategist.

As much as they seemed to be completely opposite people, they shared a few morals which made them slightly similar. Both were charismatic, wealthy senators. They also were both married. They were leaders and strongly proved their leadership qualities by leading a conspiracy to kill Caesar and then leading an army to defend themselves against the consequences.

The civil war that was started between the Romans started not because of the death of Caesar, but because of what Antony had said to the people at the funeral about Brutus, Cassius, and their army. When Cassius and Brutus decided what kind of military strategies to use, they should have used Cassius'. As far as feelings for Caesar go, Brutus loved Caesar too much to lead a conspiracy to have him killed and he just did not have the heart of a killer. Brutus' morals, such as him being trusting, honest, honorable, and forgiving are prestigious qualities unless your plan is to kill someone. Cassius was the one who could have prevented the war and got away with the murder of Caesar. He had a better military strategy and a motive to kill Caesar. He also possessed a few morals that would bring out the killer in him, which would be vengeful, explosive, and suspicious. To conclude, Cassius would have done a better job than Brutus at leading the conspiracy and lead the war.

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